Milling and Grain News Volume 28

Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ...season of high prices for flour. The average jobber, broker and direct mill agent have been extending credits to bakers and other large flour buyers. Of course, in a year when the baker can make a good profit from week to week there is little cause for nervousness over credits. However, this season is starting with flour at $8 to $8.50 per bbl. and it is an important issue to jobbers whether or not a baker can make money out of his business by selling a 5-cent loaf of bread with flour at this level. Many of the bakers here are still using flour contracted at $7 and less per bbl., but such stocks will be exhausted soon, and then the crisis will be at hand. Of course, it is true that high prices prevailed a year ago and two years ago, but previous to the war flour was exceedingly cheap and bakers made sufficient to carry them over a period of high prices. However, high prices have prevailed too long. Very few New York bakers bought flour before the advance caused hy the crop news from the Northwest. Brokers and jobbers do not believe bakers can merchandise flour in the form of bread profitably at 5 cents per loaf, and consequently are attempting to curtail credits and are cutting down on deterred business. It is the opinion here that flour cannot go much higher and that it can drop faster than it will go up. Consequently, the trade believes that the less flour they sell ahead the fewer cancellations they will have. And, even if flour continues to go up, how will the 5-cent baker he able to pay for his flour if he is not making a profit? This is the situation which accounts for the cautiousness of buyers this year. In the first two years of the war jobbers had cheap flour hooked and were willing to take bigger risks with bakers than this...show more